Meho Mahmutovic, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, said that the Ministry’s priorities had remained the same in the reporting periods – investment into infrastructure, approving new specializations and employment of new staff to improve the quality of healthcare in Serbia. Presenting the activity information, Mahmutovic said that the clinical centre in Nis was completed and opened as one of the most modern clinical centres in the region, the work was continued on the reconstruction of Belgrade Clinical Centre, the building of the Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia and the University Children’s Hospital in Tirsova, and the Ministry had secured the site for the new “Tirsova 2” hospital. Modern medical equipment such as the gamma knife and accelerator was also procured in said periods, expediting and boosting the efficiency of care provided to patients with oncological problems. The Ministry had also approved a great number of specializations and the employment of new staff to create a new, young generation of doctors in Serbia. Mahmutovic also mentioned the so-called e-prescription as a significant innovation, introduced on the territory of the City of Belgrade and 42 healthcare institutions in Serbia, which is planned to cover the whole territory of Serbia by the end of next year.

Following a debate the Committee members accepted the Ministry of Health activity information for the period January - March, April - June and July - September 2017.

Committee member Dr Dragana Barisic then briefed the Committee on the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda, a strategic document containing three pillars of sustainable development - economic, social and environmental, and comprising 17 sustainable development goals and 169 targets. The purpose of the Sustainable Development Goals is to direct and coordinate national policies toward a common vision for humankind, said Dr Barisic, focusing on Goal 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, which is within the Health and Family Committee’s purview, and the activities defined therein.

The Committee also reviewed the civic petitions it had received in the previous period and adopted the proposal of the Working Group for the processing ofpetitions submitted by citizens and organisations on how to handle them.

The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairman Doc. Dr Darko Laketic, and attended by the following Committee members and deputy members: Dr Muamer Bacevac, Radoslav Jovic, Prim. Dr Milovan Krivokapic, Dr Svetlana Nikolic Pavlovic, Prof. Dr Dusan Milisavljevic, DrDanica Bukvic, Dr Dragana Barisic, Dr Desanka Repac, Prof. Dr Milan Knezevic, Dr Ljubica Mrdakovic Todorovic, Danijela Stojadinovic and Prof. Zarko Korac.